Leadership transition in China

China is currently facing its once-in-a-decade transfer of power. The leaders of the Communist Party under lead of Hu Jintao will retire, and a new generation so-called 5^th generation will take the over under lead of Xi Jinping.

The sweeping changes come in a critical time in China’s modern history. The economic model that has enabled decades of rapid growth having become unsustainable, social unrest is rising and international resistance to China’s policies is increasing. Already reported social issues in regards to an aging population, as well as international conflicts with Japan, spurs the domestic unrest.

Power transitions in the People’s Republic of China have always been fraught with uncertainty. This is a consequence of the fact that the state’s founding leader, Mao Zedong, did not establish a formal succession process before he died, creating power struggles and a lack of institutionalized procedures for power transition.

The 5^th generation of Chinese leaders has been shaped by a time period in which China has prioritized to become a global economic power and increase industrial progress. The new leadership is by many scholars seen as increasingly nationalistic and is expected to expand the military budget.

The generation shift in Chinese politics is a very important event in global history – apart from the fact that the Chinese policies will affect the whole world as the second largest economy, the uncertainty and lack of institutionalized procedures for leadership transition can give incentive for the government to state its power and legitimacy. The Communist Party’s leaders are eager to prove the case that their authorial system can manage China better than a multiparty democracy could. Mobilizing public support has historically been done by creating a stronger national identity nationalistic propaganda. The current instability between Japan and China may take a dangerous turn if China is becoming increasingly military and nationalistic. Adding to it, the American military politics has shifted focus from the Middle East to the Pacific Rim. This makes the Chinese military policies even more determining for the country’s international relationships.